Company Sues Gartner Again For Not Putting It In The Magic Quadrant

from the you're-going-to-need-some-magic... dept

No matter what you think of Gartner's research (and we've been quite clear that we don't think much of it), the lawsuit brought by ZL Tech against Gartner earlier this year for not putting it in Gartner's infamous "magic quadrant" was a non-starter from the beginning, and it was no surprise that it was quickly tossed, as the judge noted that Gartner is free to have its own opinion. ZL should have taken the hint. Instead, it's amended the complaint and tried again. You can see the full complaint here or read it below:
It's basically more of the same. ZL is still claiming that Gartner has no right to its opinion, saying that because Gartner bases its opinion on "a body of facts" through "a rigorous process" it's no longer an opinion. That's flat out ridiculous. All opinions are based on a body of facts, and even if you have a rigorous process by which you figure out how to sort your opinions, it's still an opinion.

ZL also talks about Gartner's well-known conflicts of interest, a topic that is widely discussed and certainly has done great harm to Gartner's credibility in many circles, while still not being illegal. Basically ZL just comes across as a company angry that Gartner didn't rank it high enough, which -- in my opinion (please don't sue) -- raises plenty of questions about why you'd want to work with a company so thin-skinned and sensitive to someone else's opinion.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: magic quadrant, opinion
Companies: gartner, zl


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    Angry, 8 Dec 2009 @ 6:39pm

    RAWR

    OK... seriously. Each time there is a story like this, a politician and a lawyer should have their accounts frozen and sent to some 3rd world country

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 9 Dec 2009 @ 6:12pm

      Re: RAWR

      Perhaps Gartner needs to list ZL Tech in the rubber room of insanity for repeating the same action and expecting a different result.

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Dark Helmet (profile), 8 Dec 2009 @ 6:49pm

    Ahem

    Your CwF+RtB offerings need to be replenished.

    Love,

    Dark Management....

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 8 Dec 2009 @ 7:28pm

    Ugh

    The Nokia ads are a frakin' bitch. Worse because it takes me a minute to find out why pages are scrolling for no reason.

    Also, ScribD is annoying as hell.

    That is all.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Ads, 8 Dec 2009 @ 7:31pm

    Ads

    Mike you're an embarrassment. Maybe you haven't seen it (probably not), but the Nokia ad takes up half the damn screen. C'mon, kill off the terrible ads.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    db, 8 Dec 2009 @ 7:38pm

    It's said in every thread complaining about ads...

    Get Firefox, and adblock. I haven't seen an ad for a very long time.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 8 Dec 2009 @ 7:59pm

      Re: It's said in every thread complaining about ads...

      Ha ha... no kidding!

      link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Promote me to asshole moderator, 8 Dec 2009 @ 10:48pm

    My name isn't Mike so I can't be cool.

    Will this comment need to be reviewed by the staff?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    PRMan, 9 Dec 2009 @ 2:46am

    What ad?

    I have Firefox with NoScript and I don't see any ads...

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    AJ, 9 Dec 2009 @ 4:12am

    Ad?

    I'm sure this blog isn't free for Mike. I'll bet it costs him money somewhere. If I have to put up with an ad or two, to continue to get to read and post here for free, so be it. It IS annoying, but tolerable.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    js, 9 Dec 2009 @ 6:38am

    relevant?

    Wow..does anyone still believe that Gartner is still relevant or even remotely accurate/fair/balanced in their views?

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    kambui (profile), 15 Dec 2009 @ 1:27pm

    WHAT IS GARTNER GOOD FOR?

    I will tell you my friends...two things...

    One...market sizing...sometimes...or at least your boss gets off your back when you say you pulled the numbers from Gartner...

    Two...consulting firms read Gartner every month to determine what subject(s) clients will become paranoid about during the current month, then the firms sell into the paranoia...

    (heh) I don't mean for it to sound the way it does...

    Depending on your business problem and/or perspective, a five-figure Gartner subscription may or may not be worth it...

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.